


Cause It's The End And I'm Not Afraid To Die

by Maid_of_Light



Category: JJCC (Band)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-01
Updated: 2016-10-17
Packaged: 2018-05-17 16:51:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5878315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maid_of_Light/pseuds/Maid_of_Light
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As a group of rebels, the JJCC members fight to help their people survive the harsh rule of their king. They soon learn how far they are willing to go to make the kingdom right.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Daybreak (Simba)

**Author's Note:**

> (((My own work from another site)))

The night was over. Simba rose from his seated position to get a better view of the rising sun. It was finally morning and the nightmare was over, they had survived. Simba stretched his body, shaking off the stiffness from his limbs from sitting so long. Standing tall again, he looked up taking in the sight.

The sky streaked with vibrant oranges and pinks as the sun rose higher. Simba silently thanked the heavens above for just being alive one more day to witness this magnificent wonder. As he stood in awe of the morning sky, he couldn’t shake his feelings from the night before. Slowly an unsettling feeling crept over him. It had been way too close of a call last night. So much had gone wrong in the short amount of time. Closing his eyes, visions from last night’s mission played in his head. Screams echoed in his ears and Eddy…

Simba forced his eyes open, shoving the memories away he refocused on where he was. He was in the watch tower on watch duty. Simba had taken the job to help relax himself and yet here he was getting all tensed up again. 

The morning light flooded the valley below, Simba watched in silence, scanning for any movement in the distance. Seeing no sign of the enemy, he decided it was safe enough to have one of the other men take watch. After raising the blue flag to signal for a replacement, the dark haired man climbed down from the tower. When he reached the bottom of the ladder, Simba noticed San Cheong approaching the tower with another man close behind. 

The closer San Cheong got the easier it was for Simba to see how awful he looked. Last night’s mission had been hard on him, it was clear since the man didn’t carry himself like he normally did. Shoulders slumped slightly, slow walking pace, and clothes wrinkled as if they had been slept in. Simba couldn’t help but wonder if he had gotten any rest. San Cheong definitely could have used it, especially since he was the one who had carried Eddy the whole way back to their base.

“Morning San Cheong. How’s your back feeling?” Simba tried to muster a smile.

“Fine. Were you keeping watch all night?” There was no lift to his voice like usual. It dropped out of his mouth like his feet when he was was walking towards him, slow and tired.

“Yea. It’s been very quiet. I think we escaped without any real consequence.” Simba forced a small laugh.

“About that...’” The younger shifted awkwardly, dropping his gaze from Simba to the ground. He waited to speak until after the other man had passed them to take Simba’s place in the watch tower. Once he climbed the ladder the two were alone. The long silence started to make Simba feel uneasy. His mind raced through all the possibilities of what could be the reason for such a response from San Cheong. They all had made it out last night and no one had followed them back home. What could possibly be wr…. he suddenly understood.....Eddy.

“No....,” his heart pounded loudly in his ears, “no, E.Co said he would be alright.” 

“Simba..” San Cheong reached out to him but Simba back away. His back bumped into the ladder and the dark haired man grabbed it, he felt sick. It was suppose to be an easy mission, a quick in and out operation. No one was suppose to get hurt. It was suppose to be simple, nothing was suppose to go wrong.......but it had. Last night had been a disaster and Eddy had paid the price.

Feeling a strong arm around his shoulders, it was then that Simba realized he was crying. Gripping the the ladder even tighter he tried to force the tears back but the fear was getting to him, his legs felt weak. This couldn't happen, not to Eddy.

"Eddy is still with us, Simba. He's not dead..” His words were soft but definite. “..but you must listen carefully." The younger seemed to be picking his words carefully. San Cheong had always been one to not give the wrong idea. Taking a deep breath he continued.

"Simba, he’s not looking good. E.Co is doing everything he can, but prepare for the worst.” San Cheong gently placed his hand under Simba’s chin, making the older boy look at him.

"E.Co asked me to come get you. We're having a short meeting in Eddy's tent since E.Co can't leave him at the present moment.”

It took a few seconds for San Cheong's words to sink in. Slowly Simba processed the words and the more he came to understand, the angrier he got. Eddy was in so bad of condition that E.Co couldn’t even leave him for a short meeting. All the sadness and fear morphed into a full on rage. Simba snapped. San Cheong watched as the glazed over look that was on Simba’s face changed into a deadly scowl

“Where’s Mak?!” Simba could feel his blood boiling.

“Simba, You can’t blame him!" San Cheong tensed up. Taking a step back he widened his stance to block Simba’s path. Bracing himself for whatever was to come next.

Simba watched the change in San Cheong's attitude. The younger knew that he was dangerous when he was enraged but honestly San Cheong could do nothing to stop him even if he wanted.

“The hell I can’t! Where is he!” He was losing control of his emotions. Simba clenched his fists, trying to regain his composer. Of course he could blame Mak, it was his fault! If Mak had done what he was suppose to, nothing would have happened. Everything would have gone liked they had planned and Eddy wouldn’t be on his deathbed. Simba had every right to be angry at Mak.

Deciding to take action, Simba stepped past San Cheong and started talking swift strides back to base. It took the younger jogging to catch up with Simba’s long strides.

“Simba!” San Cheong stopped in front of him, cutting him off. Simba pushed him aside but San Cheong grabbed his arm and pulled him back. It was clear the younger was not going to let him leave without saying what he wanted to say.

“What?!” Simba roared. The younger flinched but didn’t release his arm.

“I said you can’t blame Mak!” San Cheong’s voice cracked. He was starting to get upset as well. It was very rare for him to lose his cool, even last night during their journey back as he carried Eddy on his back. San Cheong had kept a cool, clear head, but Simba could see that he was getting close to cracking. Even so the enraged male pressed the matter.

“Why?! Why can't I blame him. It’s all his fault! If he had just stuck to the plan none of last night would have happened and Eddy would be alright! All I want is to make that moron pay for what he’s done!” Simba knew he had gone too far, but at this moment he didn’t really care. He could feel the tears coming back and all he wanted more than anything was for Mak to pay for his stupid mistake.

“No, it’s not all Mak’s fault! He was trying to help the others escape!" Simba watched as San Cheong's expression became darker, meeting his glare with as much intensity as Simba's. Dropping his voice, almost in a growl, San Cheong continued.

"And you of all people should know that plans don’t always go how we want them to.” San Cheong was done, he was at his breaking point. Simba could feel his piercing glare burning right through him.

“Look, Simba, I understand that you are angry with Mak. I understand scared that you’ll lose Eddy..”, his glare softened, “..but do you really think you are the only one who is at risk of losing a friend.” The younger male place a hand on Simba’s shoulder.

“We're all scared. Eddy means a lot to all of us." Sighing, Simba nodded. It was clear that San Cheong was also feeling his pain. Taking a couple deep breaths, he work on getting his emotions in check. Still a piece of him flared with anger towards Mak.

San Cheong didn’t move for a long time. He was fully aware of how dangerous Simba could be if he let his emotions take hold of him. Quietly he spoke.

"Think of Eddy. Would he really want you to harm the person he sacrificed so much to save?” Simba let out an irritated sigh. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, San Cheong had a point. Eddy wouldn’t want Simba to hurt Mak, but he hands itched with temptation. Reluctantly, Simba nodded in agreement but quickly shot back.

“Fine. I won’t touch Mak, but you better keep close because I can’t promise I won’t change my mind when I see his stupid face.”  


	2. A New Dawn (E.Co)

E.Co could feel the strain of last night’s events starting to take effect, his whole body ached. The mission had been a complete disaster, nothing going how they’d planned. Luckily no one had died on the spot. He rubbed his tired eyes. Mak really had messed up badly, but then again it wasn’t all his fault. It had been a trap, none of them had expected practically all of the king's army to be there. Letting out a sigh, E.Co looked at Eddy, a wave of sadness washing over him.

"We really made a mess of things didn’t we..” He muttered as he looked sadly at Eddy.

E.Co could barely remember the night before, it was all such a blur. Closing his eyes he let his mind drift as he worked. Slowly his memories of the event replayed in his head. There had been so much screaming and everything was on fire. E.Co hadn't been careful and got caught in the middle of the fight. He was suppose to stay on the outside so he didn't end up getting hurt or killed. It was the first thing he had been taught when he ended up being a special. Menders were very important in battle. With Menders running about the specials healing them all the time, it was easy for the king’s army to take down all who stood in their way.

E.Co had always felt bad for the regular soldiers, the non-specials. It had been made clear to every Mender at basic training that in the king's army, the specials had the priority and that healing non-specials, or thin bloods as some called them, would get you in serious trouble. For the life of one special was worth more than the lives of a hundred non-specials. At least in the eyes of the upper class.

E.Co scoffed, to him evey life was worth saving, power or no power. The fact that the people in control didn’t share the same view disgusted him. It was wrong. It was wrong to treat them as a less of a person and to title them so. Thin blood. A dirty term to call a non-special. An easy way to separate the people and an excuse for generals to continue fighting without feeling the guilt of sending thousands to their death, because who really cares if they don’t have a power. 

The more he thought about it the more aggitated E.Co became. He had heard the commanders reporting the death total after a battle many times and it was always the same. 'This many soldiers were lost today but don't worry they were mostly just thin bloods'....it made him sick. The non-specials were just pawns to be thrown away, while the specials were the pieces in the back kept from harm. It was that same attitude throughout all the commanders and even specials. If you didn't have a power, then you were nothing.

That attitude was what drove E.Co away from the army. He had been so sure that joining had been the right thing to do, that it was his "duty", but after three years of service he couldn't take it anymore and went a-wall. Not that it had been a big shock to any of his superiors. From amount of time he had been written up for healing worse off non-specials first and disobeying his commanders. E.Co was a very gifted Mender and could have had a very promising career in the army but that wasn’t what he wanted. He had made that very clear when he had left in the middle of the night and never returned and honestly, that had been the best decisions of his life.

Lost in thought, E.Co failed to notice that a girl had entered his tent. It wasn't until she made a small noise, as if she was clearing her throat, that E.Co snapped back into reality. The Mender looked to her direction. She was carrying a tray of food and her eyes were glued to the ground, avoiding eye contact.

"I've brought breakfast your lordship." She stood there, head bowed, waiting for permission to give him the tray. E.Co felt a pange of sadness and anger as he looked at this girl. She was maybe twelve, and already brainwashed to treat him as royalty.

"I’m not royalty." His voice came out harsher than he meant, causing the girl to flinch.

"Sorry your lor..." The girl’s voice trailed off. E.Co could see the tension in her body as she stood there waiting. It was obvious that this was one of the civilians rescued from the capital. Probably was in service to a special by the way she acted in front of him. 

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound upset." The girl gave a slight nod, acknowledging his words. E.Co rubbed the back of his neck and continued.

"Ah..will you please look at me. We are all equal here, whether you have powers or not." Cautiously, the girl raised her eyes from the ground to look at E.Co. He could see the clear look of fear in her dark eyes. Trying to seem less scary, E.Co smiled at the girl.

"Here let me take the tray." E.Co slowly reached out to take the tray, trying not to frighten her more. Setting it on a table by the bed, he checked on Eddy quick before returning his attention back to the girl. She looked like she was holding her breath, waiting. E.Co extended a hand to her causing her to flinch again. A shot of pain raced through him. Who had made her fear people like him so much?

"Look we are equals. You are a friend not a servant." Running his fingers through his hair out of frustration, he continued. "Please accept my friendship." Again he extended his hand to her. Hesitantly, she reached out a small, delicate hand and placed it in his. He shook her hand, watching as a terrified look form on her face. E.Co flashed her the biggest smile he could manage in the hope that it would help relax the tension. Pulling away she gave him a shy smile back.

"Now my friend, may I ask your name?" E.Co was sure to keep a kind tone to avoid freaking her out again. 

Responding barely above a whisper. "My real name?” He nodded. “I thought that was too dangerous to use since I'm from the capital?" E.Co sighed, what an idiot he was. 

“Right. Sorry I forgot.” It had slipped his mind that they, the council, had given the new refugees instructions to not use their legal names but to come up with a new name. Of course they had every person in their records but as soon as they chose their new name their old one was replaced from all their official records by their new one. The only place their old name could be found is on a single document use to keep track of all those who had been at their camp. That document, however, was keep in a secret place that only him and San Cheong knew about.

"Do you have a new name yet?" She shook her head no.

"I….I can't think of anything." She let her eyes dropped to the ground. E.Co nodded his head, understanding. "Um, would you help me think of a name...sir.." E.Co was a bit shocked by the request.

"Of course, but please, call me E.Co.” The girl nodded. “Now where to start…” He thought for a moment. “You know, it would help if I knew your current name.” He asked quietly. Nodding, she cautiously stepped closer to him and whispered.

"Son Ji Su.”

"What pretty name." E.co couldn’t help but smile as he watched the girl blush. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he started to think. “What do you like to do Ji Su?”

There was a moment of silence before she spoke. “Outside. I like to be outside.”

“Oh? Any particular reason?” He asked, genuinely curious.

Turning away slightly, she started fidgeting with the sleeve of her dress. “I...I rarely got to go outside when I was at the capitol. My...my master…” Her voice dropped off. E.Co looked at the blankets on the bed, afraid to hear the rest. 

Ji Su cleared her throat before continuing. “...he didn’t let me leave the house. I..I sometimes would get up really early and go out to watch the sunrise while he was asleep. That was the only time I got to be outside.” She went quiet again.

Leaving the bed, E.Co approached her slowly. “Ji Su?” He whispered. She didn’t look at him, her body tensing the closer he got. “Ji Su..” he said again. Still no answer. Stopping a small distance away from her, he was quiet for a moment. “Dawn?” Still nothing.

They stood in silence for a few minutes. Slowly she looked at him, a confused look on her face. “Dawn?”

“Dawn.” He softly smiled at her. “The first appearance of light in the sky before sunrise.” Ji Su continued to stare at him. “Every new day starts with the dawn. Just like your new life here.” E.Co gave her a small smile before returning to Eddy to let her think about it. 

After a couple of minutes Ji Su spoke. “E.Co?” He looked at her.

“Yes?” The girl took a deep breath before walking over to him. Hesitantly, she offered hand to him. E.Co took her hand, a little surpised.

“Hi. My name is Dawn.” Slowly a smiled spread on his lips.

“Hello Dawn. My name is E.Co. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Her cheeks became pink as she blushed and a small smile spread across her face. E.Co chuckled at her reaction.

“I must go now.” Releasing his hand, Dawn, formally known as Ji Su, headed for the tent entrance. E.Co watched her before suddenly calling out.

"Hey wait!" She stopped at the entrance.

"If anyone gives you a hard time about being gone for so long, tell them you were helping me." Dawn nodded, giving him one last smile before disappearing through the tent flap.   
E.Co couldn't help but smile back.

Returning to Eddy, he fell back into the comfort of his own thoughts. She was a nice girl, hopefully her life will be better here.


	3. Is it too late? (Mak)

The afternoon sun was starting to bother Mak. His spot by the information center had been the perfect spot to watch the traffic going in and out of E.Co's tent. It had been a comfortable spot this morning but now it was hot and shade less. Nevertheless, he still stayed. Mak had been watching all day, half hoping to see Eddy walk out the tent but to his disappointment the only person that had left it was some girl he didn't recognize. Mak hadn't seen Eddy since last night when San Cheong carried him back to camp. Eddy had looked pretty beat up then. The more he thought about the events of last night the guiltier he felt. The images of Eddy getting hit would haunt him forever he just knew it.

Most would think seeing someone he really cared about with burns and cuts would be part that bothered him but surprisingly it wasn't. The cause of what really bothered Mak was the look on Eddy's face when he had been hit. He had been smiling, happy to fight alongside Mak. They had been doing really well. They had almost reached the civilians and then Mak messed up. He hesitate.

The amount of times he was told to never hesitate when dealing with a special was more than he could count, but he couldn't help it. The Torch, or a special with ability to control fire, had been so young. She couldn't have been much older than ten years old. She was just a kid and so he had hesitated. Luckily Eddy had pushed him out of the way of the young Torch's attack but in result he took the damage himself. Eddy had sacrificed himself for Mak. Mak felt the worst he has ever felt in his whole life. The only thing that made him feel better was his faith in E.Co and his ability. E.Co had never let them down in the past and surely he wouldn't fail this time, not with so much at stake.

"I'm such an idiot.." Mak stood and kicked a pebble, sending a twinge of pain shooting up his leg. The sun was becoming too much for him. He was becoming very uncomfortable. The heat had always bothered him and the gash in his leg just made everything worse. He had considered going to E.Co for his leg but he didn't want to take him from Eddy. In a way, dealing with his leg was punishment for his poor choices. He had done his best to clean and bandage his leg but it would be awhile before he could walk normally.

He finally got to the point where he couldn’t bare to be in the hot sun anymore. Standing up to find shade, Mak heard something drop. Looking down he saw it was the medallion his mother had given him when he had left home. Picking it up he looked at it. Running his thumb over the white stones that circled around his name. Flipping it over he read the words that he must have read a millions times, whenever he had been home sick.

Wherever you are. Whatever you do. Know you always have a family that loves you.

His mother had given it to him when he had left home to go to the capital at the young age of 16. He had joined a training course to become a law enforcement official. That's where he and Eddy met. He too, was training to be part of the law enforcement. Eddy had come to his rescue on his first day when some older boys had decided to put Mak in his place. Together they had held them off alright for awhile but eventually the older boys beat the crap out of them. They laughed as they helped each other walk home to get cleaned up. The older boys may have walked away as the winners of the fight but Mak had walked away with a new best friend and that was all that mattered. From that day on he was never been alone, always sticking to Eddy’s side. So naturally when the war started and Eddy joined the rebel force, Mak joined too.

Joining the rebel force had to have been one of the best things Mak had ever done. It was what made him happy. Gave him something to really fight for. Nothing like the fake cause the law enforcement had been. Of course there had been sacrifices for joining. He had to stop all contact with his family for the fear that they might suffer because of him but his precautions didn't seemed to matter. After six months of fighting with the rebels, the government began leveling villages. A way to control the people through setting examples. It wasn't long until he received news that his home village had been destroyed. No survivors. He had cried for weeks over the loss of his family and through that time Eddy was the only one who had comforted him. Eddy had become his family and now the possibility of losing him made Mak's stomach turn. What would he do without Eddy? He would be alone. Completely and totally alone.

Letting out a sigh, Mak decided he needed escape his thoughts and find somewhere cool to sit. He was about to walk away when he heard someone call his name.

"Hey Mak. Mak!" He turned around to see E.Co waving at him from the entrance of his tent. Settling his nerves, Mak headed over to E.Co, trying to hide his slight limp. The last thing he wanted was E.Co worrying over him. As much as he tried to act calm, Mak could tell E.Co was a worrier.

"Yes? What is it? Do you need something?" Just being this close to E.Co sent him into a guilty panic. E.Co just smiled and held open the tent flap for Mak, who was barely keeping it together. E.Co spoke as Mak entered.

"I thought you might want to see Eddy." His tone change from his normal calm to an awkward whisper. "To be honest I thought you would have already came over by now."

Looking at his boots, a wave of shame hit Mak like a ton of bricks. He walked past E.Co to the bed where his best friend was laying. Looking down at Eddy, Mak fought back the tears. He had wanted to come to see him ever since he had woken up but he just couldn't bring himself to. Touching Eddy's arm ever so slightly Mak felt the sickening feeling come back. God Eddy didn't look good. There wasn't anymore open wounds but he could still see all the injuries.

"I...I didn't think I should be anywhere near him.." His voice shook as he spoke. Mak was falling apart. Placing a hand on his shoulder, E.Co stood next to Mak. 

"You're his best friend. Of course you should be here, especially with him like this." 

"Wait, is something wrong? Is he not going to recover?" He could feel the panic rushing in, surrounding him. Eddy had to recover or Mak wouldn't. E.Co gave his shoulder a squeeze.

"No. I think he's going to be alright," his voice was soft and comforting, "but I can't promise anything. Never know when dealing with damage this bad." A dark look crossed Mak's face as he thought of last night. This was all his fault.

"I have no right to be here." He had to leave, Mak couldn't bare to be here anymore. He was about to turn and walk away but E.Co grabbed his hand, stopping his escape. All of a sudden Mak felt a slight shock and then a current running through him. The electricity didn't hurt but it felt weird.

"What are you doing!" Mak wanted to pull away but he couldn't. E.Co's grip held strong.

"Calm down and quit pulling away." He could feel E.Co's grip tighten against his struggles.

"What's happening?!" This was not normal. E.Co gave him a smile before answering. 

"You've never been hurt enough for me to have to use this kind of power. Though how you've managed that I really don't know." Mak probably would have laughed at this comment on his clumsiness but it didn't feel right. It was true, he was always cutting his hands open or hitting his head on the cupboards. But never anything too serious. However, he was still confused.

"Wait a minute. Are you healing me right now?" He was totally confused. E.Co chuckled.

"Do you think I'm really that oblivious? I know about your leg." Instantly Mak looked down at his injury.

"How?"

"I saw you get hit last night. I went and checked on you after I got Eddy stable to make sure you weren't bleeding to death but you were sleeping and you didn't seem too bad off so I left you be. Besides that, I can see a limp a mile away." Mak looked away. He didn't mean to concern E.Co with his leg for he had a much more important person to attend to.

"How does your leg feel now?" E.Co had a calming affect on him. He had no problem trying out his leg. Mak shifted his weight to the injured one but felt no pain.

"It feels as good as new." Mak was a bit in shock of the situation.

"Now watch this." Not releasing his arm, E.Co took Eddy's hand as he sat down on the bench. Suddenly Mak felt a pull to the current, a pull towards Eddy. His eyes became big. What was going on?!

"What's happening now!" He was feeling a mixture of fear and curiosity.

"One of the coolest things I've learned as a Mender. It's helped me save a lot of lives and mine own." E.Co grinned with pride.

"But what are you doing?!”

"Isn't it obvious. I'm using your energy to heal Eddy." Mak's jaw dropped. He was doing what!”

"What! You're using me to heal Eddy?" He could see the confusion creep onto E.Co's face.

"Yes? Is there something wrong with that? I..I thought you might have wanted to help." Again, Mak repeated.

"You're using me to heal Eddy?" He couldn't help but smile as he looked from his hand to Eddy. He was helping him! He could feel a great weight being lifted. Like some of the guilt was being washed away. "I'm helping Eddy.." It was barely more than a whisper. E.Co's smiled returned as he understood.

"Oh I see. Well on to the next part." Mak returned his attention to E.Co.

"Yes?”

"Mak I need you to stay and let me use your energy. I need to get some sleep so I don't end up draining myself completely. All you need to do is make sure I don't let go of you or Eddy." Mak could tell E.Co was clearly pushing his limits. His eyes were drooping and he looked pale. Something he hadn't noticed until now. He watched as E.Co shifted so his head rested on his arm on the bed.

"How will I know if you let go?"

"The current will stop.." It had only been a few seconds and already E.Co was falling asleep.

"Okay."

"Mmm.." He was already drifting away.

So Mak sat there and watched E.Co slowly fall asleep. The silence taking over quickly.

“Thank you E.Co…,” whispered Mak to the sleeping boy. Mak was content with where he was. However it didn't take long for the peaceful silence that had been present to disappear. It was suddenly shattered by the stomping of boots. Simba burst into the tent, stopping dead as his eyes locked on Mak. Mak could see the anger boiling within Simba. He felt his heart skip a beat as it always did whenever he saw Simba angry but this time it was worse.

“Mak! Out!” Mak looked at E.Co who was sound asleep. With no hope of intervention, he let go of E.Co and moved away from the bed. Running outside the tent, Mak retreated. He hoped the younger would calm after Mak got out of his sight but he didn't. Instead of walking into the tent, Simba turned to face Mak. He could see the tension in the Simba's body. That was never good when dealing with a Torch. Of course Simba was a special and a very dangerous one at that. It was great having him on your side in a battle but it was horrifying to have him turn on you. Mak was in serious trouble.

Slowly, he backed farther away from Simba, bracing for the worst. He knew that if Simba wanted, he could be dead any second now. Mak watched as Simba summoned a small fireball in his palm, his gaze locked on Mak. His only hope was E.Co, who was beginning to stir. Mak could see E.Co's shadow moving.

“Give me one reason not to throw this….one reason..” Mak returned his focus to Simba. His throat tightened as he realized he was a cornered with no escape. Like an animal right before the predator pounced. There was no where from him to run. Mak could see E.co’s shadow began to move even more.

“Come on Mak! Give me a reason!” Simba’s anger was building, he had no control. Mak looked around desperately for someone to help but everyone knew to stay away from Simba when he was angry. Resulting into an empty street. Mak realized there was no hope, he squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see his impending doom. Simba fell silent as he raised his arm, ready to throw.

“No!”

Just as Simba threw the fireball, E.Co burst out of the tent and….BOOM! Everything went white.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Simba really has no chill. Hope you enjoyed the platonic Preddy.


	4. Calming the Storm (San Cheong)

San Cheong watched as children ran about the dirt streets. Running behind the makeshift houses, freshly built for the new group until real housing could be made. They ran circles around San Cheong who was too distracted by his thoughts to take much notice. It had taken awhile but he had finally gotten Simba calm enough to enter the camp. San Cheong sighed. Simba was going to be a handful until Eddy was up and walking about, he just knew it. And it was up to him to keep Simba from killing Mak. 

A little one tossed a ball, nearly hitting San Cheong in the face. However he didn't bother to stop walking. He was confident the child's mother, who was near by, would handle it. And sure enough as San Cheong walked away he heard the child's mother scolding him.

"You must be more careful. That is Commander San Cheong....." The woman's voice faded as he walked farther away.

San Cheong shook his head, he hated being called commander but the people had insisted. Everyone called him that, even the other council members, though only out in public. The people use it as a form of respect but to him it made him feel like he wasn't thought as their equal. However, there was only one person who didn't bother with calling him commander and that was Simba. Of course he expected that from his closest friend. They've known each other since before placement day.

San Cheong kicked the dirt, remembering the whole placement day process. It was an awful processing that left most with nothing. A process that rewarded families for the birth of specials and punished those who didn't. It was pretty straight forward. When a couple found out that they were having a kid the government would move them to a nice house and give the father a good paying job. The family would live that way until placement day. On that day if the child didn't exhibit any special powers then the family was kicked out and moved to the lower villages. Once you were kicked to the lower village it didn't matter if you had any other kids. Couples had one shot. If your first born wasn't a special, then you were forever stuck in a life of poverty and hard work.

So all through his childhood. his parents prayed that he would develop a gift, but he showed no signs. Finally on his 12th birthday, placement day, he was tested and to his parents disappointment he showed no signs of having powers. San Cheong remembered returning home and locking himself in his room. He had felt so horrible, he had let his parents down. That night, he cried himself to sleep and the very next day they were moved to the lower village, starting their life of working hard for practically pennies. Barely having enough for the monthly payments on their debts and food for the table. 

San Cheong frowned. He thought back to the nights when he would pretend he was asleep, eavesdropping on his parents conversations. Often it was about money. He remember lying there wishing more than ever that he had some special ability instead of being a worthless thin blood. San Cheong had become so pessimistic on life. It was Simba who had keep San Cheong from just completely giving up.

He had befriended Simba years before placement day. Simba had been an early bloomer, showing signs of powers at age six. He had been classified as a Torch, which his parents had found out, to their misfortune, when Simba had almost burnt their whole house down after throwing a fit for not being able to go outside. So when it had come to the subject of placement day, Simba had felt none of the anxiety he had. Still his friend stayed optimistic, always telling San Cheong not to worry and that his powers would show one day and everything would be okay. Only that day never came but placement day did and he had missed his chance. He had expected Simba to cut their friendship there but he didn't. He remained loyal to San Cheong. Hanging out and doing stuff like they used to. The only difference, to Simba, was that he had to walk farther to get to his best friends house. San Cheong couldn't help but fear for his friend whenever they were in public together. It was very rare and highly frowned upon for specials to associate with non-specials outside of work. Once he had brought up this fact to Simba who quickly responded that he didn't care.

Their friendship only grew as more people raised hell about it. Often they had to fight a rather nasty group of specials who wanted to use San Cheong for target practice. And each and every time Simba had his back. 

It was when the tension began to grow between the specials and the non-specials that San Cheong decided to leave home. Simba tagging along side him even though he had strongly protested.

He stopped under the shade of a tree still lost in his thoughts. Simba had stuck with him and had even helped him start the rebellion. He had thrown his privileged life away to help San Cheong and to him, that meant the world. 

"COMMANDER!!! COMMANDER SAN CHEONG!!!" A girl, about twelve years old came running up to him. She looked very frightened and about collapsed in front of him.

"What's wrong!" He reached out to her, feeling a wave of panic hit him. The girl fell into his arms as she tried to catch her breath.

"S-Simba!....He's..he's going to kill Mak!" His eyes widened as he looked down at her.

"Where is he at?" The girl tried to steady her breathing.

"E-E.co's tent." San Cheong cursed under his breath as he began to understand.

"Eddy." He helped the girl rest against the tree. "Thank you." The girl nodded at him. Turning, he sprinted towards E.Co's tent. He had to hurry and stop Simba. Man, he hoped he wasn't too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay more platonic feelings!


	5. Mind Games (Zica)

"Look out!"

He dropped to the ground, dodging the Torrent's attack. Rolling to the left, the water stream slapped next to him. Focusing on his attacker, Zica watched as the fearless Torrent, crumbled to the earth in terror as he brought to life her greatest fear. The girl screamed, flailing around on the dirt trying to escape the nonexistent snakes that slithered around her. It is amazing how simple mind tricks can bring even the strongest specials to their knees. Without worry of attack from her, Zica quickly covered the ground between them and hooked a collar around her neck. Suddenly she stopped moving, slowly fading from the battlefield.

"Move!"

Smiling, Zica jumped to the right as the ground where he previously stood fell away. Damn Firmas. Straightening up he met his attackers gaze. With the blink of an eye, the poor boy started to scream and roll about the ground. A tall, blonde male went to the panicking boy and placed a collar around his neck. Just like the girl, the earth bender froze before fading away. Approached the male, Zica grinned.

"A fear for fire..." the male mumbled, shaking his head.

"Yes. His house burnt down when he was a kid, he barely made it out." he replied emotionless.

"It still scares me how fast you can flip through their minds."

A thin smile spread across his face. Spinning around, Zica reduced another special to a mess of thrashing and screaming. The blonde male moved quickly to latch a collar on the poor soul, who slowly disappeared just like the others..

"You should be thankful I'm on your side, Yul." The taller male grinned.

"Why should that matter, you still have a hard time getting into my head anyways. Takes all of your concentration to just brush the surface." This made Zica laugh.

"I'll figure you out eventually."

The two kept the playful banter up as they continued to work through the squadron of specials.

"When will the king actually send us a challenge!" The dark haired male whined.

"Oh come on Zica. Let's not wish for more than we can handle." Yul placed a collar on a terrorized Torch before moving to Zica's side.

"Please," Zica rolled his eyes, "I can handle anything."

"Ha. Anything but a following orders and waiting for me to sit down before you start eating." The older male teased. Zica frowned as he sent another Terra to ground in a fit of fear.

"You give terrible orders and are incredibly slow." he countered as he made two more specials disappear with their new neck wear.

"You just don't like that I don't always let you play your mind games."

"My 'mind games' as you put it speed up this process a lot faster than your other strategies." Zica brought the last special to the ground. "See we're already done." Yul attached the collar to the kid before responding.

"That maybe so but how long does it take later to get these kids back to functioning status?"

Zica huffed loudly. Yul was right, as much as is mind tricks sped up clearing the battlefield, they spent twice or three times as long getting the kids back to normal. It's amazing how crippling fear can be.

"At least we're not killing them." he finally replied.

"Because potentially driving them insane is so much better." Yul shot back. Zica frowned, looking at the ground.

"I-I...." his voice dropped off. Why did Yul always have to remind him of the past. The blonde male sensing Zica’s mood, placed an arm around his shoulder.

"I know you didn't mean to do what you did and you hate that I keep reminding you of it, but I do it for your own good. To remind you of the consequences when you fail to maintain your self-control."

Zica nodded. Yul was right to keep reminding him because he knew that if he didn't control his powers, they would control him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya sorry that the chapter lengths fluctuate so much. I really have no standard length that I follow. It's just whatever comes out when I write. Hope you're all enjoying it!
> 
> P.S. - Yul and Zica duo brings me life.


	6. ???

I'm really sorry if I don't update a lot. I'm a CH E major and I'm dying right now.


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